Two of my heroes are Muhammad Yunus, perhaps the greatest living social entreprenuer, and John Elkington, the originator of the ‘Triple Bottom Line’ concept, so it will come as no surprise to you that my recent reading has been the latest books by both. In Elkington’s case his co-author is Pamela Hartigan the Managing Director of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, and the book is ‘The Power of Unreasonable People’. I highly recommend it to you. It contains many examples of co-builders of our new world. As a result of reading it I have decided to become more unreasonable.
In Yunus’ ‘Creating a world without poverty’ he introduces the concept of social businesses. The book is full of great insights, inspiration, and ideas although I must say I disagree with Yunus’ take on the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) movement which I feel he sells short.
I was inspired by Yunus’ wish list for his dream world for it describes beautifully how I see our new world. Here is my shortened in part version of Mr Yunus’ list
“There will be no poor people, no beggars, no homeless people, no street children
There will be no passports and no visas
There will be no war, no war preparations, and no military establishments
There will be no incurable diseases
There will be a global education system accessible to all from anywhere in the world
The global economic system will encourage sharing of prosperity. Unemployment and welfare will be unheard of
Social business will be a substantial part of the business world
There will only be one global currency
All people will be committed to a sustainable lifestyle
There will be no discrimination of any kind
There will be no need for paper and therefore no need to cut down trees
Basic connectivity will be wireless and nearly costless
All cultures, ethnic groups, and religions will flourish to their full beauty and creativity
All people will share a world of peace, harmony, and friendship”
Be remarkable
Ian
Strategic advisor to difference makers
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